Team Canada captain Christine Sinclair tries to keep the ball away from Team Mexico midfielder Karla Nieto during the first half of a women's international soccer friendly at BMO Field in Toronto, Saturday, May 18, 2019.Cole Burston / CP

TORONTO — As far as sendoff matches go, it could not have been scripted much better for the Canadian women’s national soccer team Saturday at BMO Field.

Canada cruised to a 3-0 win against Mexico, Christine Sinclair scored, inching her closer to the all-time international record, and the 19,610 fans who showed up were privy to a dominating performance by perhaps the most talented women’s national team in the country’s history heading into the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup in France.

“I think we are happy with the performance, we are happy for the win,” said Canada’s head coach Kenneth Heiner-Moller. “More than anything, we wanted to praise the fans in the stadium, this was exactly what we were looking for. Hopefully, they got entertained, we definitely got entertained as well and that will stay with us, hopefully, until the end of the World Cup. It was a great experience for us.”

The pro-Canadian crowd came to see two things from their team, who board a plane to Europe on Sunday, and will play Spain in an exhibition game on May 24. They wanted Canada to win convincingly and Sinclair to score, not necessarily in that order.

Canada open their World Cup tournament June 10 in Montpellier against Cameroon, then face New Zealand in Grenoble on June 15, before concluding their group play on June 20 against the Netherlands in Reims.

“It’s always an honour to play at home and to play in front of Canadian fans,” Sinclair said. “They showed up and it was incredible just to be in that environment. We will definitely carry that with us as we make our way to Europe. I’m proud of our performance. I thought we dominated them and, hopefully, that’s a performance we can carry with us as we move forward.”

Sinclair’s goal was the 181st of her illustrious international career and puts her three back of retired American striker Abby Wambach for the all-time lead for both men and women.

Sinclair took a pass from Janine Beckie seven minutes into the second half and calmly slotted the ball past Mexican goalkeeper Cecilia Santiago.

Jessie Fleming and Adriana Leon also scored for Canada.

“I think my time on the national team has been a rollercoaster journey, ups and downs,” Sinclair said. “I can honestly say I’ve been waiting my entire career for this team. We’re so talented, and like Kenneth said, we have the depth to be able to compete at World Cups and Olympics and that excites me. We are so much more talented than we ever have been. If you combine that with what makes us Canadian, our hard work and grit, it excites me.”

This is coming from a player who has two Olympic bronze medals and was part of a golden generation of female players who burst onto the scene as teenagers 17 years ago at the inaugural FIFA Under-19 Women’s World Championship, since then rebranded the Under-20 Women’s World Cup.

While breaking the all-time scoring record is important to Sinclair – and her teammates who are seemingly enjoying the chase more than she is — making a major tournament final is the bigger goal.

Canada are the No. 5-ranked team in the world and an appearance in the final in France is not out of the question, particularly since the road does not necessarily have to go through the United States.

“It’ll be nice if and when it happens, I’m not going to lie,” Sinclair reiterated Saturday. “I’m proud of the amount of goals I’ve scored in my national-team career, but heading into the World Cup, it is by no means my focus. If it happens in France, it happens in France, if it doesn’t, we’ll deal with that later.

“I’m sure it will come, but as soon as we get on that plane to Europe, it’s all about that team trying to win a World Cup and if I’m scoring great, if I’m not, hopefully someone else is.”

Such was definitely the focus against Mexico, as Sinclair passed up a handful of shooting opportunities in an effort to setup her teammates.

On Canada’s opening goal, Sinclair passed up a shot to put the ball on a platter for Fleming to tap into the net. She did the same later for Beckie and also fellow striker Nichelle Prince.

“Every day I get to play beside her, I’m very honoured,” Prince said. “I try to learn from her and she is such a true role model and legend and I’m excited that I get to be on this journey of her chasing the last few goals for the record. It’s just so cool always stepping on the field with her.”

Whether those in the stands or watching across the country recognize it, there is something special brewing with this team. Despite the age gap between some players, they’re as tight-knit a group as ever put on the field by a Canadian national squad, and are convinced they can win the World Cup.

Judging by their performance Saturday, which wasn’t without room for some improvement, it is tough to doubt them.

“We’re excited, we made a lot of changes in the second half and our level didn’t drop and that’s very exciting going into a World Cup,” Beckie said. “We have one more game to prepare, a lot of training left to do. Everyone is happy, we’re excited to go to Europe, because I know the team feels like we’re not playing in the World Cup yet, and I know that feeling will come when we touch down in Spain.”

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